Tasted from Imperial, which the somm said had been open in the cellar for several days with no argon or other preservative. It was as delicious as ever -- all caramelly syrupy richness -- but I imagined that there was a bit less of the amazing brightness and freshness that makes Yquem special. I scored it 95, but I'm not going to record that score because I expect it lost a point or two due to that bottle condition.
Tasted in a wine pairing; the final glass on the top-end wine pairing (which I had gotten) was a not-Yquem Sauternes (1990 Gilette CdT), and I could see the mid-tier pairing was getting this 2010 Yquem. The somm tried to say that the Gilette was more rare and unusual (true) and I pointed out that it wasn't Yquem (also true). He poured some Yquem and all was good.
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From 750 mL opened 3 hours prior to tasting (not decanted)
light gold color, intense honeysuckle on the nose, cream, sweet oranges, on the palate white chocolate mousse and treacle notes dominate a rather large scale of fruit that is currently in hibernation, very fine length, sleek, substantial, while d'Yquem does improve with age I find it rare to see it shutting down to this extent during its younger years, but despite its reluctance- the grand scale of this particular vintage is evident and in the fullness of time this promises to be an important vintage.
(*****), 2030++
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What a beautiful mirabelle-flavored Yquem, clean and crisp for all its tremendous depth. Very impressive if not in a league apart from the other young Yquems on show.
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There's dessert wines and then there is Chateau d'Yquem. Head and shoulders above the rest it is the only Supérieur Premier Cru in the region. This botrytised wine was still very young but we got exactly what we wanted out of it-
Deep gold colored. Honey, apricot, lemon marmalade, orange preserves, white blossom, nuts, super sweet with medium (+) acidity. Full bodied. Youthful, long finish. 96 points
A pretty basic write up, but when you are sipping this stunner with chocolate lava cake it's hard to divert too much attention to making assessments. An amazing wine to savor with friends for the next 30 years or so. I have to agree with the pros, this is at least a 96 point wine that gets 5 stars.
https://wp.me/p125DB-2GC
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En-Primeur campaign for the 2021 vintage; 4/25/2022-4/29/2022 (Bordeaux): From magnum All the botrytis you’d ever want with a lick of good quality oak. In the mouth more of the same with apricot, marmalade, oak, crème brulee and richness. All in balance but still manages to provide a synergistic outcome. Wonderful
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Leaning to, but not quite at the orange side of the style range, the wine serves up its floral, spice, candied orange, apricot, roasted nut, pineapple, vanilla and creme brulee nose. There is richness, intensity, opulence, sweetness and freshness. The wine is youthful, yet approachable, honeyed, but not cloying, balanced and vibrant. You can enjoy this today, in a decade, or in 50 years your kids can toast you.
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80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc from 113 ha of clay, gravel and sand over a bed of deep, limestone soil and vines averaging 25 yrs old. Manual harvest by berry. Vinification in 100% new, French oak barrels. Aged ~30 months in 100% new French oak. 13.5% Abv ~10,000 cases Proprietors: Managed by Count Alexandre de Lur Saluces from 1966 to 2004. Since then wholly owned by LVMH/Moet-Hennessy-Louis Vuitton and managed by Pierre Lurton. Cellar Master: Sandrine Garbay
A(ccuracy)=2: Med light gold with peach tint. Enticing, elegant aromatics. B(alance)=3: Refined components in perfect harmony. C(omplexity)=3: Layered exotic fruit essence, flowers, honey, spices. D(epth)=2: Silky mouthfeel. Round palate and lingering finish.
Wine Tally Score [2,3,3,2] = 10/10
Amazing grace.
Once again, we remind that a Wine Tally 10/10 wine does not need to be perfect (whatever that means) or so-called "100-point" wine, just excellent in all four (A,B,C,D) attributes.
For story-telling label graphics, see: [https://www.facebook.com/WineTally/] [https://www.instagram.com/WineTally/] For video explanation (in 8 languages), see Wine Tally on [https://www.youtube.com]
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Peter's BDay (Bistro Na Pasadena): Wow. Very nice nose with loads of ripe peach, honey, apricot jam. Dense and tightly coiled on the palate, sweet and vibrant. Excellent.
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Richly textured, with layers of fat, sweet, ripe and overripe orange hued tropical fruits, pineapples, mango, white peach and apricot, all slathered in honey and tinged with vanilla. Tightly wound at the moment, there is ample acidity awarding the wine lift, as well. This feels sweeter and the textures are even more opulent than usual at the moment, even with all the acidity. I suspect it will just need time to develop and come together.
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Our wedding year wine - got a case to have over the next (30? 40?) years. As my math indicated a case would safely get us to our 65th anniversary opening every 5 years, we figured it would be safe to open one as a baseline. Still shows excellently today, with layers of sweet and floral flavors, and hint of botrytis. Not unctuously sweet like many Sauternes at this age, and with perfect acid to balance. I'll see you again in 3 years.
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This had all the classic notes - the apricot, white fruit and honey on the attack but then all that acidity and minerality hits on the finish. I think this was very primary, even from a 375. It was almost stretched too tight.
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Yquem vertical winemaker's dinner with Jean Philippe Lemoine (Restaurant Frank - CPH): Tasted Yquem 2015, 2010, 2005,1990. I must admit my all time favourite is 2001 (my score 98 - among the best wines I have ever tasted) ), which was not represented. Compared to that vintage we were not close with any of the evening's vintages. The best wine of the night was this vintage 2010. Clear deep gold colour. Aromas: Med intensity, stonefruit (apricot), caramel and formaldehyde. Full bodied with long finish. Too young right now but more developed than 2015 and performing a little better than 2015 at the moment. However my feeling is that 2015 is the one with the biggest potential 93++
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Medium gold colour. Lifted nose displaying aromas of candied orange, ripe peaches, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and hints of glue.
It is lusciously sweet with a zesty acidity. It has a medium alcohol and a full-body. It has pronounced intensity flavours and a long finish.
It is an outstanding quality wine. It has a lingering finish and its racy acidity provides balance to the sweetness and flavour concentration. It also shows complexity provided by oak ageing.
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MW Institute 2010 Bordeaux Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Marmalade, peach, honey, some tropical fruits and spice. Beautifully balanced, it is full and rich but never veers towards seeming over the top. Great length and class. A clear step up on the other 2010 Sauternes I've tasted.
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Perfect bottle. Beautiful golden colour. Pure, clear.
Wow! Lovely bouquet. Flowers, herbs, pineapple, apricots, tropical fruits, honey, lemonzest, botrytis and a slightly hint of marzipan and saffron.
Very complex. Great structure!! Very good acidity in this wine. Lovely minerality. And the flavours are just magic! This is a rich wine. Long, long finish! The flavours last forever! Just magic :-)
Just an amazing wine! Almost as good as the legendary 2001. This wine will get a perfect score in the future. And this wine will have a long, long life.
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The 2010 Château d’Yquem was my preference over the 09 with its stronger line of acidity. It was rich and layered with great detail of exotic fruit. There was a touch of dried apricot on the finish and it was oh so long.
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Unbelievably rich and concentrated nose, simply stunning. Complex floral and tropical notes - a show stopping nose; the palate is absolutely superb with great concentration and richness allied to superb length and depth of flavour. A real baby but a great prospect for the future. 95-99
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2/2/2024 - Gregmonroe wrote:
JD Friday Wine Group - GA Host (Dinner) (City Club FW - Oak Bar): Tasted blind - beautiful gold in the glass, no signs of age; honey, sweet apricot, white stone fruit. Delicious, and paired so well with the creme brulee. Called a 2005-2010 d'Yquem.
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11/10/2023 - sh6k Likes this wine:
Tasted from Imperial, which the somm said had been open in the cellar for several days with no argon or other preservative. It was as delicious as ever -- all caramelly syrupy richness -- but I imagined that there was a bit less of the amazing brightness and freshness that makes Yquem special. I scored it 95, but I'm not going to record that score because I expect it lost a point or two due to that bottle condition.
Tasted in a wine pairing; the final glass on the top-end wine pairing (which I had gotten) was a not-Yquem Sauternes (1990 Gilette CdT), and I could see the mid-tier pairing was getting this 2010 Yquem. The somm tried to say that the Gilette was more rare and unusual (true) and I pointed out that it wasn't Yquem (also true). He poured some Yquem and all was good.
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7/7/2023 - Elpaninaro Likes this wine:
From 750 mL opened 3 hours prior to tasting (not decanted)
light gold color, intense honeysuckle on the nose, cream, sweet oranges, on the palate white chocolate mousse and treacle notes dominate a rather large scale of fruit that is currently in hibernation, very fine length, sleek, substantial, while d'Yquem does improve with age I find it rare to see it shutting down to this extent during its younger years, but despite its reluctance- the grand scale of this particular vintage is evident and in the fullness of time this promises to be an important vintage.
(*****), 2030++
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2/15/2023 - englishman's claret wrote:
What a beautiful mirabelle-flavored Yquem, clean and crisp for all its tremendous depth. Very impressive if not in a league apart from the other young Yquems on show.
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2/5/2023 - Topper wrote: 93 Points
At a vertical of Yquem, this was one of the lighter vintages. Pretty wine on its own. Can drink now with a light dessert.
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1/26/2023 - sh6k Likes this wine: 97 Points
Tastiest Yquem of the evening (out of 6). Spicy, perfect, banana caramel.
Rankings for the night:
1. 1946 (best overall)
2. 2010 (most delicious)
3. 1967 (most interesting)
4. 2015
5. 2005
6. 1976 (likely flawed)
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7/10/2022 - KSWinegeek wrote: 97 Points
Apricot, honey. Complex and elegant.
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5/15/2022 - caspernick Likes this wine: 96 Points
There's dessert wines and then there is Chateau d'Yquem. Head and shoulders above the rest it is the only Supérieur Premier Cru in the region. This botrytised wine was still very young but we got exactly what we wanted out of it-
Deep gold colored. Honey, apricot, lemon marmalade, orange preserves, white blossom, nuts, super sweet with medium (+) acidity. Full bodied. Youthful, long finish. 96 points
A pretty basic write up, but when you are sipping this stunner with chocolate lava cake it's hard to divert too much attention to making assessments. An amazing wine to savor with friends for the next 30 years or so. I have to agree with the pros, this is at least a 96 point wine that gets 5 stars.
https://wp.me/p125DB-2GC
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4/26/2022 - chatters wrote:
En-Primeur campaign for the 2021 vintage; 4/25/2022-4/29/2022 (Bordeaux): From magnum
All the botrytis you’d ever want with a lick of good quality oak. In the mouth more of the same with apricot, marmalade, oak, crème brulee and richness. All in balance but still manages to provide a synergistic outcome. Wonderful
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4/5/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Leaning to, but not quite at the orange side of the style range, the wine serves up its floral, spice, candied orange, apricot, roasted nut, pineapple, vanilla and creme brulee nose. There is richness, intensity, opulence, sweetness and freshness. The wine is youthful, yet approachable, honeyed, but not cloying, balanced and vibrant. You can enjoy this today, in a decade, or in 50 years your kids can toast you.
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12/26/2021 - jkvedar Likes this wine: 96 Points
Can’t do it justice with words.
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11/28/2021 - Ispendtoomuchmoneyonwine Likes this wine: 100 Points
Fabulous.honey, orange, peach,perfect balance with acidity. Heavenly nose. This competes with the 01.
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11/2/2021 - Gas Station Wine Guy Likes this wine: 95 Points
A fantastic bottle that hits all the right notes. Still on the young side with loads of potential.
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6/19/2021 - happy712 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Best dessert wine ever. Period. End of story.
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6/28/2020 - eadsaaron Likes this wine: 99 Points
Perfection
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5/25/2019 - WineTally Likes this wine:
80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc
from 113 ha of clay, gravel and sand over a bed of deep, limestone soil and vines averaging 25 yrs old.
Manual harvest by berry. Vinification in 100% new, French oak barrels.
Aged ~30 months in 100% new French oak.
13.5% Abv ~10,000 cases
Proprietors: Managed by Count Alexandre de Lur Saluces from 1966 to 2004. Since then wholly owned by LVMH/Moet-Hennessy-Louis Vuitton and managed by Pierre Lurton.
Cellar Master: Sandrine Garbay
A(ccuracy)=2: Med light gold with peach tint. Enticing, elegant aromatics.
B(alance)=3: Refined components in perfect harmony.
C(omplexity)=3: Layered exotic fruit essence, flowers, honey, spices.
D(epth)=2: Silky mouthfeel. Round palate and lingering finish.
Wine Tally Score [2,3,3,2] = 10/10
Amazing grace.
Once again, we remind that a Wine Tally 10/10 wine does not need to be perfect (whatever that means) or so-called "100-point" wine, just excellent in all four (A,B,C,D) attributes.
For story-telling label graphics, see:
[https://www.facebook.com/WineTally/]
[https://www.instagram.com/WineTally/]
For video explanation (in 8 languages), see
Wine Tally on [https://www.youtube.com]
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1/19/2019 - mdipietro Likes this wine: 98 Points
Fantastic
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1/12/2019 - Aravind Asok wrote:
Peter's BDay (Bistro Na Pasadena): Wow. Very nice nose with loads of ripe peach, honey, apricot jam. Dense and tightly coiled on the palate, sweet and vibrant. Excellent.
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11/2/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Richly textured, with layers of fat, sweet, ripe and overripe orange hued tropical fruits, pineapples, mango, white peach and apricot, all slathered in honey and tinged with vanilla. Tightly wound at the moment, there is ample acidity awarding the wine lift, as well. This feels sweeter and the textures are even more opulent than usual at the moment, even with all the acidity. I suspect it will just need time to develop and come together.
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10/29/2018 - 10centpower Likes this wine:
Our wedding year wine - got a case to have over the next (30? 40?) years. As my math indicated a case would safely get us to our 65th anniversary opening every 5 years, we figured it would be safe to open one as a baseline. Still shows excellently today, with layers of sweet and floral flavors, and hint of botrytis. Not unctuously sweet like many Sauternes at this age, and with perfect acid to balance. I'll see you again in 3 years.
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10/7/2018 - skifree wrote: 95 Points
This had all the classic notes - the apricot, white fruit and honey on the attack but then all that acidity and minerality hits on the finish. I think this was very primary, even from a 375. It was almost stretched too tight.
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12/4/2017 - Kim Gerner wrote: 93 Points
Yquem vertical winemaker's dinner with Jean Philippe Lemoine (Restaurant Frank - CPH): Tasted Yquem 2015, 2010, 2005,1990. I must admit my all time favourite is 2001 (my score 98 - among the best wines I have ever tasted) ), which was not represented. Compared to that vintage we were not close with any of the evening's vintages.
The best wine of the night was this vintage 2010. Clear deep gold colour. Aromas: Med intensity, stonefruit (apricot), caramel and formaldehyde. Full bodied with long finish. Too young right now but more developed than 2015 and performing a little better than 2015 at the moment. However my feeling is that 2015 is the one with the biggest potential 93++
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3/13/2017 - Man in Black wrote:
Medium gold colour. Lifted nose displaying aromas of candied orange, ripe peaches, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and hints of glue.
It is lusciously sweet with a zesty acidity. It has a medium alcohol and a full-body. It has pronounced intensity flavours and a long finish.
It is an outstanding quality wine. It has a lingering finish and its racy acidity provides balance to the sweetness and flavour concentration. It also shows complexity provided by oak ageing.
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11/4/2016 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
2016 Villa d’Este Wine Symposium - Kelly, Alan and Kevin's excellent adventure; 11/3/2016-11/12/2016 (Villa D’este, Lake Como, Piedmont, Milan and Frankfurt): This seems very ripe, spicy and deeply toned. Intense sweet yellow fruit, yellow peach, dry apricot, mango, spicy spices, cinnamon, a hint of flat cola, mint, honey, steel and limestone. Excellent concentration, deeply toned yellow fruit and honey driven palate impression, bright acidity and a long finish. Pretty intense wine.
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4/19/2015 - CamWheeler wrote: 95 Points
MW Institute 2010 Bordeaux Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Marmalade, peach, honey, some tropical fruits and spice. Beautifully balanced, it is full and rich but never veers towards seeming over the top. Great length and class. A clear step up on the other 2010 Sauternes I've tasted.
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5/3/2014 - Tenuta Stefan Likes this wine: 99 Points
Perfect bottle.
Beautiful golden colour. Pure, clear.
Wow! Lovely bouquet. Flowers, herbs, pineapple, apricots, tropical fruits, honey, lemonzest, botrytis and a slightly hint of marzipan and saffron.
Very complex. Great structure!! Very good acidity in this wine. Lovely minerality. And the flavours are just magic! This is a rich wine.
Long, long finish! The flavours last forever! Just magic :-)
Just an amazing wine! Almost as good as the legendary 2001.
This wine will get a perfect score in the future.
And this wine will have a long, long life.
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2/11/2014 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
The 2010 Château d’Yquem was my preference over the 09 with its stronger line of acidity. It was rich and layered with great detail of exotic fruit. There was a touch of dried apricot on the finish and it was oh so long.
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4/4/2011 - vespasian wrote: 96 Points
Unbelievably rich and concentrated nose, simply stunning. Complex floral and tropical notes - a show stopping nose; the palate is absolutely superb with great concentration and richness allied to superb length and depth of flavour. A real baby but a great prospect for the future. 95-99
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